As one of the most historic homes on the River Thames comes on the market, we
find out what it might offer the modern buyer

Buy leafy Magna Carta Island, in the middle of the River Thames, and you don’t just become a homeowner, you become a custodian of history. This 3.72-acre piece of Berkshire is believed to be the spot where, 799 years ago, on June 15 1215, a grumbling King John put his seal to the eponymous document. It has subsequently shaped not only British law, but constitutions all over the world – think Commonwealth, think America.

At the time, it’s not thought there was a building on the island. The location had been chosen as a neutral venue. On the one hand, the 25 English barons could browbeat their monarch into approving the charter; on the other the king could relax in the knowledge that surrounding walnut trees would minimise the chances of him being assassinated by a longbowman with a grudge.

Absolute authentication isn’t possible due to the time that has elapsed. Nevertheless, historians believe the island is the most likely location for this medieval showdown. What’s more, the handsome pink house that now stands there (built in 1834, seven bedrooms) has its own Charter Room. Here, the coats of arms of the barons hang on the walls. Standing in the centre of the room is the octagonal piece of stone, framed in oak, on which the Magna Carta parchment is said to have been spread out.

With the 800th anniversary approaching next year, there could hardly be a better time to put the property on the market. Across the other side of the river, at Runnymede, stands the memorial to President John F Kennedy, on a patch of Britain that is permanently American. Inscribed on that memorial is an excerpt from the president’s inauguration speech, delivered in January 1961: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose any foe in order to ensure the survival and success of liberty.”

Not that far removed from the wording of the Magna Carta, which, after a bit of rejigging by John’s grandson Edward III, read: “No man, of what estate or condition he be, shall be put out of land, or tenement, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disinherited nor put to death without being brought in answer by due process of law.”

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The asking price is £3.95 million, which includes the main house, a two-bedroom cottage, plus 420 metres of river frontage. You can moor your boat outside, or travel by car across a humpbacked bridge connecting the island with the mainland… And a lot of cars have been driven up to the house.

By royal decree: "It is essentially a country estate, just 18 miles from Marble Arch," explains Graham Cooper, the owner of the island

“My mother Vera owned a Maserati and used to give a lunch for Maserati-drivers once a year,” says Graham Cooper, the owner of the island (his family has lived there for 48 years). “Sometimes 90 people would come, and we would have millions of pounds’ worth of cars parked outside the house.

“Not only was my mother the senior member of the club, but she was the only female Maserati owner. She bought one in 1992, having got rid of her little convertible car.”

In terms of serving monarchs, it’s not just King John who has visited the island. In 1974, Queen Elizabeth paid a visit, and planted a tree in the garden.

“I remember it well,” adds Graham. “My father had special steps built, so that she could make her way safely from the boat.”

So, what else is great about this place? “I believe it is the only island in the Thames that is occupied by one family. It is essentially a country estate, just 18 miles from Marble Arch. I’m sitting looking out of the windows now, and all I can see are beautiful trees and immaculately mown lawns. And, it is a grand residence, but it’s not intimidating. You walk into the main hall, and all the rooms go off it. It’s a marvellous place for entertaining. My mother was 93 when she died, and gave her last party here in February 2013,” explains Graham.

“It definitely has the wow factor. It is also warm, comfortable and friendly. I suppose it could do with a bit of modernising, but it’s not something I feel I want to do. I have a feeling that if I tried to change anything, a hand would come down from above, and I would hear my mother saying 'Don’t touch a thing’.”

This means it will be up to the new buyers to introduce alterations. One thing they won’t need to do, though, is to talk up the property’s past. There can’t be many homeowners who can claim to be living on the spot where the rights of the common citizen were first enshrined. Often, of course, some estate agents can be prone to exaggeration. But Stuart Cole, head of region for Sotheby’s International Realty, is pretty much sticking to the facts when he says: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a piece of world history, on the site where the rule of law was first forged.”

But let’s not get too earnest. Frankly, it’s also a great chance to enjoy your own mini kingdom – an idyllic private island in the beautiful River Thames.

Magna Carta Island, Staines-upon-Thames, Berkshire is on the market with Sothebys International Realty for £3.95m (01932 860537; www.sothebysrealty.co.uk)